Just Friends
by bostonrainbow825
Summary: Maura is confused about the status of her relationship with Jane... are they just friends or something more? (Rizzles established told in flashbacks, femslash, rating this T but flashbacks do entail the beginnings of sexual encounters)


Disclaimer: All original property is not owned by us and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Rizzoli & Isles' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.

 **Just Friends**

Dr. Maura Isles knew that when it came to any other subject her sense of urgent inquisition would lead her to ask question after question, run test after test and devour any available research that she could in order to further her understanding but there was also one topic that she knew that broke the order of her usually order mind and that was...

Jane.

The tall confident homicide detective was at times the only person on earth she felt knew her, was the only person who understood her and yet often she couldn't quite say the same about her...

'Friend.'

The word finished the thought in her head and made her scowl as she rinsed out her tea cup in the sink in order to keep any of the dark liquid from staining the antique porcelain even if the drink had been sitting idle for only a few moments.

It was the word that haunted her, turning a situation she should either already have come to terms with or be pushing fervently to better understand into a place that she just couldn't dare to compromise.

Of course Jane Rizzoli was her friend, her confidant, her protector. All of the BPD and more importantly the close knit Rizzoli clan knew that but what they didn't know was the number of times the normal line of 'friendship' had been blurred, crossed and on some occasions literally demolished for a period of a few minutes or hours until again the definition came back to slap Maura to her senses.

And it always came back to burst her bubble of question and push her back to reality. They were friends, very close, very good friends. That was the definition of their relationship that Jane would flippantly give to anyone who dared ask, the people they worked with and Jane's own family having learned to just stop even asking for definitions. In fact Maura was quite sure that it had been months since anyone had even cracked an off colour joke about them about the nature of their relationship, and that simple fact made her question even more what the circle of people around them had come to understand.

After all a good number of their 'friends' were Detectives, cops and highly observant and intelligent scientists. The subtleties and nuances of their relationship couldn't be lost on all of the group, not for this long, not with all of the evidence to the contrary that just piled up Maura felt at her feet for her to try and wade through.

"Just friends." She stumbled over the words she had overheard one of her long time employee's state to a new technician who had dared break the balance in a tone that suggested anything but. She hadn't been able to continue eavesdropping when the explanation had begun to underline that talking about Detective Rizzoli or the ME would get you on the dark side of said Detective quicker than committing a murder.

The reality that Jane basically had the entire precinct held hostage with just the threat of her piercing dark eyes and sharp tongue made Maura have to grapple with opposing feelings. On one hand it made her a little annoyed, after all why should anyone have to edit what they observed to match what Jane had decided they should all see even when other truths were staring them in the face. But on the other hand, no one had ever done so much to try and protect her from the weight of public scrutiny before. On top of not mentioning them, no one dared called her poindexter except the Detective herself and references now to her being the Queen of the Dead were always made with an air of importance and loftiness to the title.

Almost breaking her from her thoughts was a sudden grumble noise from the couch and she had to sigh and shake her head as her green eyes came to rest on the long body of the Detective stretched out there asleep having kicked off the throw blanket that Maura had tucked over her body when she'd dozed off during the movie they had been watching together.

Their recent case had been long and hard, they all were in some way or another and of course it hadn't been a thought when Jane had returned here to her place. It hadn't needed to be discussed when they ordered dinner and sat down to enjoy a movie and try to unwind. The only difference was while the Detective did seem to unwind, she had only felt her thoughts and her heart spiral into the complicated place she tried most days to avoid at all costs.

Letting out a low soft sigh to not wake Jane up, she moved back to shut off the slow seep of water from the tap that she'd been using to rinse the cup. Having to close her eyes as the press of the marble counter edge into her hip made her mind snap back instantly to the night long ago when everything had gone from really just being friends to be so complicated and covert.

Hoyt and his apprentice had kidnapped Jane, almost finished what the Surgeon was obsessed with doing but the strong Detective had saved herself and sent one man to the grave and her nemesis back to prison. That night Maura had been sure that Jane would be swept off by FBI's Agent Dean, but somehow instead they had ended up going out for drinks and because of the state of Jane's ransacked apartment had ended up back at Maura's.

 _-flashback-_

" _You've had an extremely difficult day Jane, and I know you can consume a much greater amount of alcohol then that but just amuse me and drink some water before we put you to bed so you won't have a hangover in the morning on top of the obvious discomfort you're going to feel from your injuries." Maura had gotten the words out in a soft comforting tone as she ran the tap to let some of the filtered water cool down before she put it in a cup knowing Jane preferred it that way rather from the fridge when she suddenly felt the full press of the taller Detective's hips into hers from behind at almost the same time that strong hands slid onto her sides pressing her a little harder against the counter._

 _Her breath caught in her throat, the water pouring over the top rim of the glass onto her hand as she felt one of Jane's hands move up and brush her hair off her neck and forward over her left shoulder. The Detective's warm breath suddenly on her skin making it clear that the brunette's mouth was close to her neck, her brain snapping into the reality that this meant it was the tall woman's breasts she now felt pressing into her back through the thin material of her silk top._

" _I'm not thirsty." The tall detective breathed out onto her skin as cool lips pressed onto Maura's neck a little below her ear, Jane's hands moving from shifting her hair out of the way, round to the front of the ME's outfit, gently but boldly beginning to pull free the beautiful blouse Maura was wearing from where it was tucked into her skirt._

 _For the first time in her life Maura didn't have one single word come to mind, her hand absently letting the glass settle to sit safely at the bottom of the sink before she curled her hand around the top of the level to turn the water off almost more to anchor herself then out of concern the water was flowing. No words weren't buzzing through her mind as they normally did. Every brain cell she possessed had been hijacked by her nervous system right now to focus on the contrasting feel of the detective's lips on her neck, a sensation that caused an instant knot of arousal to clench in her stomach. The knot further washed by other sensations as smooth silk was pulled away from her skin until finally Jane seemed to accomplish what she wanted and she felt gun calloused hands come to touch the skin. This making the knot explode and send a rush of arousal down between her legs that she quite honestly wasn't expecting._

 _Yes, she'd always thought Jane was beautiful, stunning but she had never believed that the Detective thought of her as anything but a friend, had thought of any woman that way so the sudden feel of Jane's tall body pressing into her back as hands roamed on her skin was unexpected and filled her with a sense of weightlessness instantly._

" _I want the feeling of fear, and pain to go away." Jane continued to breath her words onto Maura's skin as she lightly pressed her hands over one another spanning Maura's stomach, moving her lips up to lightly close first over the ME's earlobe, and then bringing her teeth to lightly graze against the soft sensitive skin. "I want to flood my mind and body with better feelings, better sensations." She released Maura's ear tip and nuzzled her nose against her whole ear as she began to kiss down her neck again. "What do you think Maura?" Jane's voice was huskier than ever, if that was possible, as she asked the question, sliding one hand to actually press under the waistband of the ME's skirt just a little, while she slid the other up, gliding her thumb nail against padded satin cups guided by the clear line of the under wire in Maura's bra._

" _Yes." Maura tired to put together more complicated words but as fingertips played low on her stomach, her ear just picking up the sound of a blunt fingernail scoring along the wire that separated Jane's hand from her breasts which she realized were now pressing forward as her back arched, her ass pressing back into Jane's hips harder. When the tone of her response registered in her mind she instantly recognized how desperate and wanting it was, as if her body had already decided what it wanted and it wasn't about to let her complicated brain take away this chance to feel Jane touch her. For the first time she dared to move one of her hands off the counter, bringing it up to gently play her fingers over the brunette's bare forearm. Knowing that Jane had tossed the jacket over one of the stools when they'd first arrived leaving her in only the tight capped sleeve shirt. "I want th-that too." She felt the shake in her voice match the shiver running from her breasts down into her stomach to her pelvis and then back up again._

 _The next moment however the pressure from behind and Jane's hands were both gone, which may have made Maura panic, if it were not for the immediate smooth tones saying..._

" _Turn around, move away from the sink..." Jane's hand were on her own t-shirt, pulling it off of her own body, shaking her hair free as she just tossed the dark dirty material down on the tiled floor, her dark eyes glittering not having moved from off Maura._

 _Maura felt herself swallow and then almost as if the words had already decided what she was going to do she did turn, and her foot went forward to take a step towards Jane when she managed to locate her. But the motion was stalled when she realized the Detective was standing there now only in a practical white bra, the swells of her breasts peeking out in a show that Maura had never before had the pleasure of being able to opening appraise. Even the large white bandages covering her collarbone and throat did nothing to detract from the woman's overall beauty, in fact to Maura at that moment they just solidified everything about Jane._

 _Letting her foot complete the step, she found her fingers suddenly on the buttons of her own shirt, fumbling with them in a way most unlike herself as she tried to start undoing them from the bottom upwards. Completing two more steps by the time she was working on the third button, having moved as Jane had instructed away from the sink and towards the brunette._

" _You didn't have to step away from the counter." Jane's lips curled into a smirk, as almost without any warning at all the tall detective, pressed the two steps of distance still separating them, placed her hands firmly on Maura's hips, lifted her while at the same time still moving backwards completely the four more steps to take Maura back to the kitchen counter top, placing her ass lightly on the marble. "I liked you there." She smirked slightly before leaning up the short distance necessary to push her lips hard against Maura's in a sudden and intense open mouthed kiss._

 _The motion was all such a rush that Maura was left melting under the feel of Jane's tongue pushing into her mouth, not in a way to explore it but to claim it. She didn't even have time to feel relief that she was no longer forced to hold herself up on her weakening knees because literally being swept off her feet made her head swim._

 _She actually opened her eyes for a moment in the kiss, registering that her seated position on the counter made her almost the same height as the brunette, and her eyes slipping closed she arched her body forward into Jane's as she brought her hands up into thick dark hair to keep her from moving away, to keep their mouths locked together as she finally let her tongue slide over its partners in the hot kiss._

 _Jane moaned low as Maura's tongue slid over and around her's in the kiss, her hands moving to the half opened blouse and badly fumbling with the other buttons the detective managed to completely open it, pressing her hands then around the other woman's exposed torso with another groan into the kiss as she pressed her body in tighter, shuffling her feet in closer to the unit to get as close as she could to the ME._

 _Their bodies seeming to move together now towards the same goal, as soon as Jane had tried to get herself closer, Maura's legs had parted, the skirt having been pushed up her legs already with the unexpected lift onto the counter. The position made it easier for her to hook her legs around Jane's strong thighs and capture her there, shifting even as the kiss continued through moans and quick stolen gasps of air to find the pressure she wanted between her legs against Jane's hip. The cool metal of the detective's belt buckle teasing down her inner thigh until it warmed against her skin._

" _Here..." Jane's voice rumbled a little in her throat as she said the words, almost not breaking the kiss, just speaking into it as Maura suddenly became away that pressing against her heated thigh wasn't the warm metal of Jane's belt, but as there were slight rub and pressure points it became obvious to the ME that the brunette had slipped one hand in between her legs. "Mmmmmmm." The pressure points and rubs that had been limited shifted and suddenly Maura was faced with the reality of Jane's hand slipping directly to cup the front curve of her underwear. "Maura..." The ME's name was a growl that slipped from Jane's lips before once again her mouth was claimed by a edacious kiss._

 _The blonde knew the reason that Jane had said her name in such a deep, guttural tone. She knew that the brunette was now as aware as she was of how wet she had become in the last few minutes, how burning hot she was at her core from the deep exploring press of Jane's tongue into her mouth, how hard her centre throbbed in anticipation of feeling the brunette's fingers slide around the small silk barrier and finally come in contact with her perfectly waxed lips having only been at the spa two days before._

" _Jane." Maura groaned the brunette's name back into the kiss as her hips danced forward against the pressure the Detective's hand offered, though for the moment it was a broad press of her palm that gave her no pin point to focus her movement on. "Please." She had thought the word but hadn't intended on saying it, yet suddenly when she drew her mouth back in order to take a few desperate breaths it slipped out none the less. Exposing the deepest desires she held right now._

 _Jane moved her fingers to the side of Maura's panties, pressing them to the side to glide her fingers over smooth wet lips, her other hand moving to grip her soon to be lover's hip as she drew them back and forth through the wetness a few times, giving Maura neither pressure nor friction. It was just a stroke, a tease almost, spreading the thick luscious arousal more evenly over heated skin._

" _Are you ready?"Pulling her lips free Jane's voice was suddenly soft, she pulled back a little, making sure Maura looked at her, the brunette's eyes though glittering with arousal and lust, were filled with an emotion far deeper._

" _Yes... Yes, Jane I'm ready." Maura drew her fingertips down Jane's cheek, locking dark eyes with her own green ones as the caring question and delicate touches made her body completely ready for what was about to happen. 'I'm ready for everything to change.' The thought had pressed into her head almost like a whispered promise to herself._

 _-flashback end-_

Maura felt the memory wash over her and settle on what she had said to herself at that moment, not knowing that the hours until sunrise would be spent with Jane that night tied together in physical bliss. Their activities moving them from the kitchen into her bed until exhaustion had pulled them both into a dreamless relaxed sleep. The realization of what had changed and what hadn't changed came when she awoke to find Jane in the kitchen making her breakfast, and from the moment the detective had dodged away from her claiming the french toast was burning when Maura had tried to kiss her again she'd been forced to realize that the night before hadn't been the watershed moment she'd hoped for.

Things had somehow slipped back to 'friends', but from that moment on every touch of a hand and every look from those smoldering dark eyes had melted her inside though she'd used every ounce of her veneer to hide the effect it had on her. The dynamic between them had settled into something unfamiliar to the blonde, Jane had openly become more protective, standing closer to her, the once rare touches becoming more commonplace but any hint of that night of intense intimacy was hidden away.

The brunette made no mention of it and the one, be it ill timed moment when Maura had tried to, the Detective had brushed it deftly away with the urgency of the situation around them. No promise to address it later came and Maura just found the words dried up in her throat every time she wanted to address it. After all if she tried it would ruin a nice trip to the museum, or dinner, or a movie night after a long day. Those moments were too precious to her to ruin them by backing the Detective into a corner she clearly didn't want to be in.

In a way she remembered convincing herself that it was possibly a dream, or at the very least a moment of intense emotional need that had pushed Jane to seek solace in her arms and knowing how damaged her encounters with Hoyt had left the Detective she couldn't bare to sully the encounter with expectations and her own desires. In the end she decided that she had to make that night about Jane and allow things to fall back into friendship seamlessly, which she had... that was until the copycat Boston Strangler case had swallowed them up. An old cop trying to prove his gut had been right all along had pushed past the edge of reason and the law and it had only been Jane who in the end had saved her from his attempt to cover up his mistakes.

She'd seen the fury in the Detective when she'd been in jeopardy, the stress and panic of the situation making it far from romantic, leaving her by the end just thankful for how strong and perceptive Jane was, how dedicated to seeing the job done despite the trouble she'd been getting from many sides. In the end they'd ended up at the Robber for a drink, she'd felt light and connected to her friend in a way she hadn't been able to since that night. Even Lt. Grant's appearance and vague admittance of what she had suspected was a long standing crush on the tall brunette gave her something to focus on, being able to tease Jane about it, who quickly skirted any idea it could be true or reciprocated.

Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, even when Jane had insisted on seeing her all the way home. Maura had just assumed it was because the ME had been in danger, adrenaline and concern still running high despite the fact the retired detective was in custody and the threat had passed. But that was the night she remembered realizing that reading Jane Rizzoli was sometimes an art in itself.

 _-flashback-_

" _You can do a room to room check if that will make you feel better." Maura waved her hand as Jane followed her in and she instantly moved to dump her purse, coat and keys on kitchen table to sort out in a moment. "Or Lt. Grant might still be up and desperate for a foot rub?" She teased in a way that was almost not her, instantly deducing it must be from the second glass of wine she'd indulged in after so much endorphin being pumped into her system earlier in the evening._

" _I will, thank you." Jane still had her hand on her gun as she moved into the apartment. "Check each room, not go looking for a foot rub." The detective's voice was somber and held no hint of amusement or mirth, she pressed off after taking a quick glance into the kitchen, towards the main room to see it more clearly._

" _Go right ahead." Maura gave a soft nod as she slipped off her heels and moved picking up her coat to put both away properly in the hall closet before she moved to tuck her purse in the cabinet in the living room as she always did. Only taking out her phone in case anything work related came up. By the time she'd gotten herself a small glass of water to take upstairs, Jane was doing her check of the top floor and Maura headed straight into her bedroom._

 _Dropping the glass on the small cork coaster at her bedside, she moved to the closet and picked out something comfortable to sleep in. A mid thigh length grey silk teddy with its own short dressing gown, both had a small spattering of soft white flowers near the bottom hem._

" _If you're that worried Detective, you can just stay the night you know." Maura called not sure where on the top floor Jane had gotten herself too. She knew the brunette would take extra care to inspect her study and her library having already told Maura many times they were the two most likely places a 'perp' would infiltrate the house because of the tree branches that came in close to the windows, if he didn't just find the door downstairs unlocked. A bad habit she had that infuriated Jane to no end. Without honestly even letting herself think about anything other than getting out of her clothes and into her nightwear so she could lay down and go to sleep, she began to get undressed, hanging up the various pieces she took off in the potion of the closet reserved for things that needed to be sent to the dry cleaners._

" _I was planning on doing that." Jane's voice called loudly as the sound of the detective's boots on the stairs resounded around the house. "It's clear." She added, the footsteps coming louder as she proceeded down the hall towards Maura's bedroom. Unusually there came a polite knock on the white door._

" _One second I'm just getting changed." Maura smiled at the polite knock, it was so well Jane, as she slipped the teddy over her head, tossing her underwear towards the small wicker laundry basket in the corner of the closet that was there just for her lingerie. "I'm decent now." She offered moving to pick up the robe to slip into it as well._

 _Jane pushed into the room and slipped her gun into its holster._

" _Okay well like I said.."She stopped as her eyes came up taking in the ME and her night attire. The brunette took a long slow swallow and licked her lips. "The house is clear." She wiped her hands on the outside of her thighs and then rubbed them together as she walked a little further into the room. "Are you okay? No soreness? Or anything that might need checking out?" She let her eyes pan carefully over the other woman._

" _He really didn't hurt me, he was just going to shoot me." Maura shook her head softly to the idea she had suffered any injury. "But you stopped him." She underlined that it had been the Detective's intervention that had ensured her safety, after all it had even been Jane's prompting with her eyes to remind Maura of the scalpel in close range she could use to help distract him. "Until you walked around into autopsy I was afraid I was going to die." She admitted with a soft shiver remembering the desperate resolve in the older man's eyes to 'shut her up'._

 _Jane moved silently over and without comment she wrapped her arms around the other woman._

" _If I can I will always stop you from being harmed." She whispered as she placed a kiss to the side of soft curled hair, her hand's splaying out over the soft silk covering Maura's back. "You're mine to protect, to care for and defend."_

" _I am." Maura said the two small words letting her arms close around Jane's back in return, though it was said both as a statement of fact and a question at the same time as instantly she felt all the 'friendship' start to rush out of the room and the fact she was stood there in nothing but a tiny teddy having abandoned pulling on the robe when Jane had come in suddenly feeling too hot for it._

 _Easing back slightly Jane moved her hands and placed them softly on Maura's cheeks, her dark eyes tracing over every detail of the ME's face before very gently the taller woman leaned in and place the lightest, most gentle kiss on Maura's lips._

" _You should go to bed baby, sleep..." She stroked her finger tips down Maura's cheek, and than smoothed them over her hair. "Push aside all that happened tonight. Nothing's gonna hurt you while I'm here." She repeated the soft sweep of her hand over light brown hair._

" _I'm glad you're staying, thank you." Maura blinked suddenly light green eyes, the whisper of a kiss the first she'd felt in weeks since that night and in an instant all of the desire she'd been pushing away came boiling up inside of her. Her knees going weak at the fact Jane had called her 'baby', a woman who never used terms of endearment like that as far as she knew and cringed when anyone else did for anyone had independently and so easily just used it to describe her. "Will..." She heard her voice drop down an octave lower. "You stay here?" She let her eyes briefly travel from where they were locked with dark ones to the bed and then immediately came back to Jane's holding her breath for the answer._

" _If that's where you want me." Jane nodded. Sweeping her hand again over soft curls, again placing the softest kiss on Maura's lips. "I'll just get myself a water and check the door again."_

" _Okay." Maura had said the small word and nodded when Jane had first agreed, and put her hand up to her lips almost still feeling the touch of the other woman's as she watched her backtrack out of the room. With a soft breath she made herself blink, tried to fall back into her routine and moved to the bathroom._

 _She knew she hadn't been long, just enough time to prepare for bed but nothing could have exactly prepared her for when she came out of the en-suite to find Jane propped up on her side in bed, the covers already down. The detective, who had a habit of sleeping in her clothes especially on night's she was on alert, was partially stripped down to just her tight navy t-shirt and black panties. Her dark mane was pulled around her shoulder and framed her face in the dim light, clearly having taken the time to switch off the main light and turn on only one of the side lamps when she'd gotten into bed._

 _Maura didn't speak, she couldn't. She was feeling a mental war go on in her head as her logical mind tried to reason that the Detective was concerned about her after being held at gunpoint, while her body was already heating up with anticipation of what might happen next._

 _Carefully she slipped down first to sit on her side, taking a small sip of water to further flush the sudden taste of mint from her toothpaste from her mouth and then reclined onto her back before finally turning to face the brunette who's dark eyes she could feel watching her closely the entire time._

" _Are you tired?" She asked the question in a voice she knew was too soft to be considered normal, her mind trying to reason that this was the tipping point question somehow. If Jane wanted to retreat she'd say yes, they would both get comfortable and sleep, nothing more. But a growing flutter started in her stomach as she hoped the answer would be no, or better yet another kiss._

 _Beside her Jane shifted slightly onto her side and then reached out slowly and tucked light brown hair behind Maura's ear, a tender smile pulling at her lips._

" _We can make it go away." She offered her voice thick with all kinds of emotion and arousal that wasn't even trying to be hidden. "Any thought of it, or memory." She traced the path her fingers had just made though this time there was no hair to move, the slightly calloused fingers just traveling over Maura's skin and lightly behind her ear. "If that's what you want."_

 _There it was, the tone, the tone in Jane's voice that Maura hadn't wanted to admit was there only moments earlier when she'd called her baby, when she'd vowed to protect her... when... Maura felt her heart flutter having not even caught the word the first time... when Jane had called her 'mine'._

" _I want that." Maura felt her body shiver from another soft trace of Jane's fingers around her ear and slid closer making it so only a few short inches separated them. "I want you." She let herself whisper the words out in an exhale, knowing in the silent quiet room Jane would hear them but someone who had been somehow on the end of the bed wouldn't have been able to._

" _You have me." Jane leaned in, tilting her head at the last moment to bring her lips not to Maura's mouth but to her neck, kissing her there as she reached with her free hand to lightly hold her waist, moving her body the distance that remained between them on the bed, while at the same time pulling gently at Maura's waist so that their bodies pressed together in contact as soon as possible when they were close enough to as Jane kissed and nuzzled her way down Maura's neck to her collarbone and then back up to her jaw. "You have all of me."_

 _The blonde closed her eyes, tipping her head to give Jane as much skin as she wanted to play her warm lips over. The combined feelings of the brunette's breath, her lips, even the tip of her nose as it trailed into her skin made Maura forget what had happened earlier, it made her forget about anything in the world other than Jane Rizzoli. She brought her hand up to cover the one on her hip, pressing it harder into her side and let one bare leg slide up the outside of Jane's bare one to feel the electricity the long touch caused._

" _Let me show you what that means..." Jane reached down with the hand on Maura's waist until it caught the bottom edge of the short teddy before she slid her hand under it onto Maura's thigh and then grazed it upwards over her lover's skin, using softly swirled strokes to both caress the skin but also shift the nightdress up off Maura's body as she moved her hand. "To have me, to capture me to possess me like you do..." Jane's voice grew thicker and deeper as she kissed along Maura's collar and then eased up from her kisses as her hand had revealed the majority of the ME's thighs, hips and lower stomach._

 _Shifting seamlessly the next instant warm soft lips were pressed against the soft jut of Maura's left hip bone as Jane let her hand slide almost in a lazy caress round and down over the curve of her ass._

 _Maura squeezed her eyes shut tight as her whole body felt suddenly like a lit match, the brunette's words doing as much to ignite her as the feel of her lips traveling across her bare hip. The skim of Jane's palm over her ass cheeks, down the back of her thighs and up again before she was guided over onto her back making her take a staggered breath._

 _Could she dare to believe it was true, had she captured the elusive Detective, could she surrender to the idea that she possessed her and captivated her? The questions were pulled from Maura's mind as she felt the path of Jane's kisses start towards the inside of her hip and thinking in general came to a halt. No matter what Jane had said she was the one captured right now, possessed by Jane in any and all capacities, focused solely on the brunette and what she was doing to her._

 _-flashback end-_

Maura moved over to the couch with a soft sigh and pulled the blanket up over Jane's body again, before moving over to settle in the arm chair to watch her. It was a guilty pleasure but a harmless one, and it had become something that she'd obtained unspoken approval to do. It never seemed to disrupt Jane's sleep, and when Jane had awoken to catch her doing it all she had ever received was a soft look, maybe a shy smile and then the Detective always focused herself on something else quickly.

As she looked at her she couldn't help but continue to replay her memories of those early months in all of this. Having to stifle a sad laugh when she remembered how out of sync things had become after that second night. Work had swallowed them up and then suddenly Jane's well meaning mother had been trying to set her up with Lt. Grant before ultimately, just when it seemed like she might lose any of what Jane had convinced her that night could be hers to him, he was gone again to a prestigious job in Washington.

Then there had been a point of intense conflict between them when Jane had basically accused her of treating the rich and influential Fairfield family with kid gloves because she had once been engaged to him a lifetime ago. She remembered how they had tried to talk out some of the hurtful things they had said to each other, the brunette even offering up a rare (thought not as rare to her) apology but after drinks at the Robber she remembered going home and feeling as if something hadn't been settled still.

It had been the first night she'd been the one to push the issue, the first time she'd shown up on Jane's doorstep.

 _-flashback-_

" _I know it's late, you were asleep, I'm sorry... I just had to talk to you." Maura watched the Detective reach up and rub a palm into one sleepy eye and then step back making a 'come on in' motion with her other hand. She slipped off her trench coat while Jane closed the door and revealed the dark red tight dress she was wearing. "I hate what this case has done to you, to me... to what you think of me. I just need to underline to you, to make it perfectly clear... I'm on your side and I don't consider one minute, one second at work or in private anything but a gift." She spoke and took quick steps over on pin high heels before she reached up and threading one hand into dark hair pressed her lips to Jane's._

 _The slightly confused look that had been on Jane's face was gone the instant lips met her own and Maura's hand messed into her hair. Strong arms came around the ME holding her instantly tightly, the kiss turning into something a little more passionate and intense and Jane led it that way, before finally she pulled back smoothing her hand over Maura's shoulder, blinking dark eyes as she looked at her._

" _I'm sorry for anything I did, or said that was out of turn." She blinked apologetic dark eyes at the ME. "I can be brash, I can be an ass." She frowned ever so slightly. "I hate that you let the son of a bitch touch you." The muscles in the detective's jaw tensed to the point were almost all of them were visible along her jaw line. "Make love to you." She went a paler, almost sickly colour as she barely managed the words._

" _He was a lifetime ago, you are my right now, you are my tomorrow." Maura reached to slip her hand into the brunette's larger one and gave her a slight tug back towards the bedroom. She wasn't surprised when Jane let herself be led fairly easily, waiting until they were both next to the tussled bed before she turned and put both her hands up to gather up her hair. "Unzip me please." She asked in a sultry tone, wanting to get out of the dress and then get Jane out of her seemingly mandatory sleep pants and t-shirt so that she could do exactly what the brunette had asked of her._

 _Slightly shaking hands moved to the top of the zipper and gently eased it down before Jane pulled back and walked around to the front of the ME to stand and look at her, pressing her tongue out to lightly wet her lips as dark eyes watched for what she might do next._

 _Carefully Maura slipped one arm and then the other out of the spaghetti strap dress, revealing as she slid it down her body not only the fact that she was wearing a strapless push up bra in soft purple but also a purple garter set that held up dark nylons to her mid thigh._

 _Letting Jane look all she wanted, she didn't hesitate from stepping closer to bring her hands to the bottom hem of the brunette's shirt, lifting it up off her body and freeing it from her hair to let it drop with her dress on the floor. She then slid her hands down from Jane's shoulders, down around the sides of her breasts, down her sides to her hips and pressed her fingers into the roll of material from the pants at the brunette's waist before she eased both the pants and the undies she had on underneath down her long legs, letting herself pepper a kiss down Jane's right thigh every few inches as she did so until they were pooled at the brunette's feet and she guided her to step out of them._

 _Keeping both of her hands on Jane's skin she rose slowly to stand again and putting her hands on the brunette's hips pulled her in to press their mouths together in a slow savouring kiss._

" _I don't deserve this... you..."Jane breathed into the kiss as she brought her arms up to cradle Maura lightly, almost as if she were something precious and breakable._

" _You do." Maura contradicted lightly leaning in to kiss her again, taking great time and patience to kiss from one corner of her mouth to the other, then suck lightly across her bottom lip inch by inch before doing the same to the detective's top lip and then finally letting the tip of her tongue out to carve along the kiss plumped areas. "I think it's me who most possibly doesn't deserve you." She clarified in a whisper running her fingertips along Jane's collarbone reverently._

" _I think we shouldn't think about it, and should instead just focus on the things you had planned when you chose that outfit for when you came here." A slow steadier smile pulled at Jane's lips as she slowly reached down and then drew one hand up from Maura's knee, up her thigh and over the curve of her hip to settle lightly on her waist. "Because no matter what you try and tell me, you were not wearing a garter set earlier." She winked and pulled Maura a little closer._

" _You think you would notice that do you Detective?" Maura gave her a sultry smile and leaned her body in closer to Jane's. "I think you would." She ran her fingers of one hand through dark hair. "But you are right that I chose it especially to come here, for you... because I wanted you to find me alluring... sexy... irresistible..." She leaned in as Jane had so often did but instead of kissing her lover's mouth, she used her hand to guide Jane's hair off her neck and instead began to place kisses just below the brunette's ear. Once then twice before letting her tongue tip slip out to tease the lobe of her ear with soft sweeps._

 _Jane made a noise somewhere between a moan and a sigh, a noise of pure pleasure. Her hand tightened in its place as her eyes drooped slowly closed._

" _I do find you sexy and alluring..." She began, her face relaxing to openly show the pleasure Maura's touch and kiss was bringing her. "And right now irresistible." She added, a soft shiver rolling through her body. Opening dark eyes Jane pulled back slightly, separating the two of them before she moved to lie down on the bed. "Show me more." The words came from the brunette in a low thick growl._

" _Oh... show you more?" The growl made what Maura was starting to refer to as the Jane knot start in her stomach, and she gave a soft shake of her hair to settle it down her back before she held up one finger taking a breath in as she turned and moved to the dresser. Before she could convince herself that this was a ridiculous idea, that this wasn't what Jane was suggesting she turned on the small portable stereo that was sitting on the top of the dresser. Alarmed when the first thing that came out was loud rock music but she cast a look back at the bed and shook her head, carefully taking the time to tune the station in to a local jazz station. Satisfied when she heard the low wail of a trombone and shake of a snare drum being played slow along with it._

 _Not turning back to the bed again yet, she kept one hand on the dresser and closed her eyes, letting her body tune into the music before she began to let her hips sway and then did a slow shimmy up and down before she finally turned looking back at the bed with fiery eyes.  
_

 _Still dancing she boldly held Jane's gaze for most of her way back towards the bed before she stopped and turned again dancing back on for another few moments before she reached up to unlatch the bra, making sure to hold some sort of 'mystery' she kept her breasts hidden by her arm as she peeled it off and let it fall to the ground turning to dance back to the bed. Pulling up onto it to stand, though the mattress was a little uneven but it only took a few steps before she was standing over Jane and slowly she shimmied her way down until her knees now rested on the mattress either side of Jane's lower stomach._

 _Dark eyes traveled all over Maura's body and then studied her features before her hands moved to lightly but firmly come to take hold of her hips, her thumbs caressing the material still covering them._

" _You are the most beautiful woman I've ever known." She said her voice thick with honesty as well as desire. "The most complex, outstanding and passionate person I've ever had the privilege of knowing." She shook her head slightly._

" _I think all that about you Jane." Maura let her body settle against Jane's stomach, the only thing separating the brunette's skin from her wet heat a thin strip of silk. "You are so stunning, breathtaking..." She leaned her face down so she could kiss her much as she had the first time when she'd first arrived and Jane had been still half asleep and unsure why she was even there. She kissed her without reservation or hesitation, pressing her tongue deeply and purposefully into her lover's mouth as a promise of what she wanted to do to Jane's body, an outline of the pleasure she wanted to bring her._

 _-flashback end-_

Yawning Maura looked at the clock to see how late it was, and no matter how much she was partially enjoying letting her memories get the better of her she knew they had work the next day. Paperwork to fill out and reports to file even if the city inhabitants behaved and there wasn't a new case.

"Jane..." Maura moved over and bent down beside the couch. "Jane, sweetheart you need to move up to bed, you'll be sore if you sleep here." She urged her to start to wake up before she moved to actually breech the small distance between them. She knew how disoriented and reactionary the Detective could be when she wasn't expecting to be touched and she hoped the transition upstairs could be a quick and seamless one.

"Baby not now I'm sleepy 'kay?" Jane flounder and flopped onto her other side into the back of the couch.

"Jane, I know you are." Maura let out a soft sigh. "You can't sleep all night on the couch, it's too short you can't stretch out remember." She tried to reason and then realized she was in fact trying to reason with a woman who was probably 80 percent still asleep. "You just have to move upstairs, straight into bed and then back to sleep." She dared to reach and pull on her arm.

"Oh no..." Jane snatched her arm back and pulled it to her body. "You and the baby lump take up too much room, too much." She rolled again this time the turn taking her dangerously close to the edge of the couch.

"Jane!" Maura had to lurch forward to keep her from actually rolling off onto the floor, cradling both her arms around the brunette's back. "Please wake up, what baby lump?" She questioned confused. "I want to go to bed too, we just both need to go upstairs." She hated that she heard a whine in her own voice, after all she by right should just replace her 'friend' on the couch safely and let her sleep cramped up for the night if she was too foolish to follow a simple request to move to a posture-pedic bed only one floor away.

"Wha?" Dark eyes blinked open more or less alert after the jolt. "Who's acting like a baby and since when do I have a hump?" She frown in confusion for a second and then tensed as she worked out just how much she was 'in Maura's arms', but before the tension settled in the brunette pushed it out of her body and seemed to settle into the cradled embrace, a soft smile pulling on her lips. "You should just have left me on the couch and gone to bed." Her tone softened as she pushed back onto the broad cushion to balance herself more. "You're tired." She looked at the other woman and moved to lightly cup her cheek.

"I am." Maura gave a soft smile and a gentle shake of her head. "But you'll be stiff in the morning because the couch is too short for you to stretch out on." She reminded her of the ongoing conversation about how Maura should get a new couch. "And I didn't call you a baby or say you had a hump, you told me you wouldn't come to bed cause my baby lump took up too much room." She quirked an eyebrow.

"Must have been a dream." Jane gave a shrug easing her hand from off Maura's cheek gently. "I should go." She offered the ME the way out of the situation. "Then you can get to bed and I won't get a cramp." She evened out. "It's been a long week." She added reaching to put her hand on Maura's leg.

"Jane please, just come up to bed." Maura put her hand over the brunette's. "I'm tired, you're tired... it's not like you don't stay over all the time." She spelled out interlacing her fingers with Jane's as she stood up and pulled lightly on the interlinked grip. "I locked the door, everything is secure. Please." Her bottom lip pouted slightly.

"You're pouting." Jane actually pushed up with surprising ease and taking longer strides than the other woman was soon the one to be leading Maura towards the master bedroom. "Maur..." The brunette's tone dropped a little as she walked. "I think we need to talk about some things..."

"Okay." Maura didn't know in some ways how the simple one word answer had come out of her mouth, usually the idea of having to talk about some things alone would have sent her into a Google babble of intense proportions as she tried to pre-empt all that Jane could be referring to and reflect it with facts and research but her exhaustion had crept up on her. Adding to that her trip down memory lane had given her a very vivid recollection of the highs and lows they had experienced and the fact that Jane was trying to start this meant well... she wanted to hear what Jane wanted to talk about. She let herself be led all the way up into the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the mattress with the brunette refusing to let go of her hand. "I'm listening." She prompted her softly, completely taking any anticipation or push out of her voice just trying to give her time to start, something she had come to learn was hard for the usually ballsy brunette at times.

Jane sat down beside Maura, resting on the edge of the mattress softly, moving Maura's hand to rest on her lap, and cradling it within both of her own for a moment before she said anything.

"Maura, I want you to know that I'm sorry." Jane began, her dark eyes not actually coming up to look into hazely green ones as she continued. "It's come to my attention..." She stopped. "That is, upon reflection I suppose, I can see that my behaviour over the last..." She paused again and frowned. "Maura..." She tried again, licking her dry lips and trying to sit up a little straighter.

"Jane." Maura said the brunette's name in return blinking those hazel green eyes at her expectantly waiting for her to continue as she felt a tension start to grip her chest in fear suddenly that the next words out of Jane's mouth were going to involve pointing out how they should just be friends. She suddenly had a hatred for the word, a deep loathing for it and she wasn't sure what she would do if it was the world Jane used to try and 'redefine' them.

"I've not been being fair to you, I've been expecting you to live this odd double life and... and it's wrong." The brunette looked away for a moment, the muscles in her jaw jumping a she tensed it.

"It is, I shouldn't have let it continue either." Maura couldn't let her take all the responsibility, after all she was a grown woman she could have made Jane sit and talk about this sooner, could have pushed the issue.

"I've know we needed to sort it for a while now I just... I didn't know how and I..." Jane pulled in a breath. "I didn't want to." She revealed honestly. "But I know how selfish that is and part of being someone's friend, part of loving them..." She drew in a sharp breath. "Is wanting the best for them. "And I do, I... want what's best for you Maur." She closed her eyes for a moment and just pulled the hand she held in both of her own up to her lips, kissing it almost reverently.

"You're best for me." Maura couldn't stop the words from slipping out of her mouth as she felt the delicate press of lips to her hand, shifting to turn so she was looking more at the brunette.

"I want to be." Dark eyes darted over Maura's face for a second or two before settling on her eyes. "Which is why we needed to talk." She somewhat clumsily eased one of her hands off from where it was holding on to Maura's and slipped it into the small square top pocket on the work pants she was still wearing and eased something out of it. "And why I want you to have this..."

The grip that fear had on Maura's chest was immediately replaced by something else as she saw at least the partial curve of a gold ring held tightly between Jane's fingers and knew her eyes had gone wide as she watched it come closer as the brunette held it out to her.

It only took her a minute to realize what it was, no it wasn't an engagement ring or anything that took that kind of extreme leap forward, It became thick at the top and the emblem and years stamped into the sides made her able to guess instantly what it was.

"Your class ring." Maura took a slight breath in as she let her fingers reach out to take it, running the pad of her finger over the embossed letters and numbers. "You want me to have this?" She blinked suddenly glossy hazel eyes at Jane a shy smile pulling at her mouth. "To be your..." She took another quick breath. "Girlfriend?" She put forward knowing enough of what this gesture meant in Jane's world.

"Exactly." Jane nodded. "I have no idea if it will fit, or if you can wear it with all you have to do with your hands all day, but I thought we could look for a nice chain and you could wear it around your neck maybe?" She offered with a simple shrug. "I just wanted a symbol so you know and I know what you mean to me, and yeah so the world knows if they want to." She gave another soft shrug and a smile. "If you think for some reason I'm good enough for you, then I am not fool enough to buck against that." She smiled almost nervously, the exhibition of the emotion unusual for the Detective.

"Wait one second." Maura held up her finger moving off the bed to her dressing table, opening a jewelry box and shifting through things for a moment. "How about this one?" She came back with a simple eternity link chain gold necklace. "You're right about my work, I'd be taking it on and off and I'd be so scared I'd lose it but this way." She linked it through. "Would you do the honours?" She held the ends up to Jane.

Jane carefully took the necklace and fastened it around Maura's neck, a soft smile creeping onto her face as she moved to settle the ring against the small divot on her throat where it rested perfectly.

"Want to see?" She pointed with one hand to the mirror on the dresser.

"Yes, of course." Maura could barely contain her excitement as she moved over to look in the mirror, reaching up to admire just how beautiful it did look. How classic and yet so important, to her at that moment it was better than an engagement ring. It was what was needed to make this moment right. "Jane..." She turned back from the mirror moving over to stand in front of the brunette. "This... is perfect." She reached down taking one of Jane's hands in each of her own. "And... I want you to know I understand that this doesn't mean you want to tell everyone right away, the important people at work and most especially your family. And that's okay." She underlined softly. "I have been confused, for a long time, as to what this meant, what we meant, what I meant to you." She tried to relate the uncertainty she'd felt. "But this makes it clear, no matter what is going on, no matter how our jobs mean we have to act, that I'm yours." She bit her lip trying to not let her tears choke up her words. "And you're mine, that I love you."

"We will tell them, and it will be more obvious through how I am, I just... part of why I do what I do is to save you from become a target, any more than you already are Maur." Jane admitted with a soft frown. "I used to be so worried that if it was public knowledge that you and I were what we are that people would target you, to get to me, and I couldn't live with that but then I realized that you are are risk 24 /7 just like every one and that just means I have to do my damnedest to protect you and keep you safe, and I intended to do that anyway, if the world knows you're mine and I'm yours, maybe they'll help me out now and again and keep an eye on you too." She smirked.

"And they can help me protect you." Maura nodded back releasing Jane's hands only so she could lean in fully and hug her tightly. "You are the most important thing in the world to me Jane Rizzoli." She whispered into the brunette's ear placing a kiss underneath it.

"I think it's safe to say the feeling is mutual Dr. Isles." Shifted slightly to hug her back. "Can I be the first to ask this..." Jane dropped her voice a little as she snuggled close. "Can we drop the seeing other people nonsense? Sharing you sucks."

"Yes, please, it does." Maura nodded into Jane's neck having snuggled her face there. "Officially we're both off the market, though I will forgive blind dates your mother doesn't actually tell you about before she knows." She gave a soft laugh remembering how Jane had arrived to find herself set up for dinner with Lt. Grant. "And can I ask that it means when it's just the two of us, we don't slip into the 'we're still at the office' distance?"

"I definitely prefer this kind of distance." Jane gave Maura a light squeeze. "And you know... closer." She smirked.

"Closer, I also enjoy closer." Maura breathed out softly against Jane's neck. "Are you still tired?" She asked softly.

"Exhausted." Jane replied honestly taking a long breath in as she held Maura tightly. "But don't think that means I am walking away from holding a negligee clad you close to me all night while I sleep."

"I think that sounds perfect, and we can book in official celebratory closer moments tomorrow when we're both not exhausted." Maura placed another kiss on her lover's neck and pulled back softly. "I have a few new ones, let me get changed." She winked at her softly.

"You know finally I have a use for on line shopping. You need to look for things for me to sleep in. You know practical but cute, you know what I like." The detective began to slowly undress just beside the bed where she stood.

"You're asking me to shop for you? I think I might be dreaming." Maura teased softly moving to the closet. "I know what you like." She leaned against the closet door and grinned for a minute. "Your t shirt and sweats are in the bottom drawer." She pointed to the bedside table with a soft smile. "I washed them from last time so they here when you needed them." She beamed happy now she hadn't put them in a bag when they were laundered for Jane to take home with her now.

Jane, now just in her bra and panties moved to the drawer unit and squatted down pulling open the bottom drawer, just retrieving her t-shirt. Unhooking her bra and slipping it off, before putting on the soft clean shirt and padding barefoot to the bed. Folding the sheets and comforter down she eased onto the mattress and leaned up.

"I'm going to stink up your sheets as I'm too tired to shower or wash-up." She announced with a half smile.

"Mmmm just this once I'll forgive you." Maura re-emerged from the closet in a knee length flighty pink silk spaghetti strap teddy and moved over easing herself into bed. "I'm too tired to wash up either." She gave a soft laugh moving instantly to cuddle into Jane's body. "And I don't want to hear any more mumbling about me taking up the bed with my lump." She gave a laugh remembering the brunette's sleepy ramble from downstairs.

"I was dreaming, you were pregnant with twins and taking up the whole bed eating pickle ice cream." Jane laughed softly too, dropping a kiss into soft hair as together they snuggled down.

"Twins?" Maura gave a soft laugh as she yawned. "You keep dreaming big Detective." She closed her eyes for the first time in her life perfectly content to know Jane and her weren't friends anymore, they were so much more.

The End...


End file.
